"Ah yes Indeed, Fruit Bat Fur sounds perfect!" Cadogan exclaims having corrected his orientation without so much as mentiontioning his error. He takes off his spell component pouch and gives it a quick toss towards where he estimates the counter to be and suprisingly it lands right infront of the halfling.

"Please fill it up for me, Coal in the left-left pocket and fur in the left-down-left pocket." He fiddles around in his pocket for a while and produces a gold coin feels it about in the air and sneers as he returns it to his pocket and produces yet again another gold coin, again he frowns and digs deeper finally pulling out a silver. He wades forward nearly knocking over several items and finds his way to the counter and places the coin down.

Elanor hands the blind sorceror a few coppers and his pouch, after packing up his newly acquired spell components as requested.

"And now Gentlemen, it really is a bit past my normal closing time." She begins to shoo the two men toward the front door, helping Cadogan manuever through the shelves and display tables, and thus avoiding too much damage done to the merchandise.

"But the shop will be open tomorrow morning at 8 sharp, if you find you need anything else. Good day!"

The grey clad man turns to the Druid... "I like the way you reason..." his eyes this time flaring green to match the mans hair.... and then in a brief instant his concentration breaks elsewhere...

"They're in trouble..." he speaks suddenly.... grabbing his staff he leaps to his feet... and sprints out the door...leaving it wide open to let the chilled night air flow in like water through a broken dam.

The bartender almost drops the mug he's holding.. and stairs at the patrons.... "Well don't just sit their! Go help the man."

-----Down the street a ways------

While Elanor is closing up shop, a man comes flying by in a dead out run towards the closest gate of the town. In her mind can be heard....

There is trouble... please help.... to the East near forest.

And then the voice is gone.

The figure in Grey approaches the gate while the guards seem to be laughing at anothers joke... startled they stumble to their feet.

__________________
Winner of the 2002 Coolest avatar of the year award?

Remarkably quick of understanding , Megamieuwsel concludes that the "They're in danger"-remark mr. Shifty-Colour-Eyes made , is dealing 'bout his future seamstresses.There you have it ; It seems I won't be able to eat in this hell-hole......

Gulping down his wine and tossing aside the glass(which , purely by incident lands straight in the mug , the barkeep was holding), he storms out of the tavern in persuit of Whonan.

Once on the street , a sharp whistle emanates from his lips , resulting in a balking reply and the clatter of hoofs as Patokkel catches up with the spell-slinger.

There is trouble... please help.... to the East near forest. resounds in his head as he sees Whonan storm past the Magic-Shop-departing crowd.

Crito thanks Elanor for her time and helps lead Cadogan out of the shop. Crito is about to suggest that he take Cadogan back to the Inn before he goes over to the town hall when suddenly a grey clad man goes running by. Shouted words echo in his mind, There is trouble... please help.... to the East near forest.

"Did you hear that?" Crito asks Cadogan. "Oh well", Crito shrugs, "Come on, let's go see who needs help." Mumbling to himself, "I guess I can get that license later", Crito waits a moment to see if Cadogan's hand remains on his shoulder, so he can lead him after the grey man.

Cadrius had just finished his small meal and pint of ale when the steel-eyed man burst from his stool and out the door. The oddly dressed man in purple pants shortly followed him. This draws a frown from the somber man. The idea that "they" were in trouble didn't sit well with him either.

As the bartender declares that the others should aid the staff carrying man Cadrius looks down at the pommel of his sword, resting in a chair next to him. He seems to stare at the well worn symbol of a fist clenching a lightning bolt.

He shakes his head and whispers quietly, "No, I will not do it, not again."

He grows quiet for a second as he continues to lock his gaze on the sword. At last some sort of conclusion seemed to have been reached for he closes his eyes and whispers, "Damn you."

He leaps to his feat, the chair squeeling as it is thrown back behind him. He grabs his shield and begins buckling his sword to his belt as he makes his way out the door only to see the man in purple pants hauling a mule along down the street.

Second rises, grabs his pack and quarterstaff, and dashes out the door, trying to secure the pack to his back and his staff all at the same time.

As the voice thunders in his head, he slows his run for a moment, stops, secures his belongings tightly, then dashes forward as fast as his legs will carry him.

The Forest.. to the East! Aww, flip-flam-flooze-bas-a-pam-bam! Hope it's not those Wyverns I noticed there. Then again, they seemed hungry.. maybe something was taking their natural food.. like.. Tuskers... Oh flip-flam-flooze-bas-a-pam-bam-a-dam-a-nam!

A voice in her head? She stops, her hand still on the key in the lock, and looks around the shop. Of course there is no one there. It really was a voice in her head!

Trouble? On the east side of town? Should I go?

She supposes it will be all right to leave the shop again, just for a little while. She really will be glad when Caledon comes back tomorrow, and she can have a little more freedom again.

Just then, she hears another voice in her head; a lisping twitter, high pitched and whiny. It reminds her of a cranky toddler in need of some warm milk before going to bed.

"No-o! Sss-stay here! I want food! Feed me, feed me!"

"Is that you talking to me, Treasure?" Elanor asks out loud. "I didn't know you could do that!"

"Out! Me out! I sss-stuck in here! Feed me, feed me!"

Strangely, it almost seems that she can feel the little creature's hunger and claustraphobia. It makes her feel kind of dizzy. And queasy. Was she going to have to listen to this voice in her head all the time now?

"Look little guy," she tells the tiny snake. "I'm going to go outside to see what is going on. You'll just have to wait for a bit." The little box in her pocket starts to buzz with the sound of frantic flapping. "OK OK! I'll let you out, if you promise to stay close to me. All right?"

"Promis-sss-e!"

Elanor steps out of the door, locking it behind her, and reactivates the magical security systems. Then she starts walking toward the east side of town with her sword drawn. A tiny flying snake circles over her head.

hearign the weird mans comment about help, "By the Matriach we must go." Standing up he makes a small prayer toushed his heart then seams to get stronger. Heavinghis pack on his back like it weighted nothign . The once owerburdened halfing runs after the oters as if he was wearing his birthday suit.

Catching up, "Who is in trouble?"

__________________
"You know, once you Feng Sui the organs, its actually rather nice in here." Stewie from Family guy, said from the inside of a dead camel.

The rugged dwarf follows the others at a short distance, his rolling gait unhurried, axe balanced easily over his shoulder. He whistles softly as he walks, eyes scanning restlessly from side to side, almost unconsciously, for anything out of the ordinary.

As the better half of a dozen people fling by the guards... they seem to give up on figuring out whats going on... and simply stand and look puzzled.

You see a light much like a bullseye lantern running ahead, and figure it must be the odd man from the tavern... he is traveling in the direction of what is more distant, but appears to be a large fire of some sort, too large to be a normal camp fire, but too organized to be wild or out of control.

The night air is picking up and it nips at the heals of the interesting assortment who heeded Whonan's calls for help... as you approach closer it appears to be a bonfire burning in the middle of a neatly organized circle near the edge of an ominous wood. To your amazement there appear to be 4 or 5 dead orc's with thuroughly torn flesh.

The Grey clad stranger is standing looking upwards at the night sky... as the breeze suddenly dies... you hear a low growl...

"Not them..... THAT!" Whonan says calmly. Directed, as could only be assumed, towards the stampeed coming up from the rear. The Redheaded woman comes to stand next to him, from where she was kneeling next to the lady in Green, who remains focused downwards..

As you look up you see a huge reptilian of sorts, with massive wings and a hidieous spiked tail ending in a barbed stinger, poised to swoop back down at him. The air picks up once again as its wings beat heavily and it dives like a bird of prey upon the helpless.

__________________
Winner of the 2002 Coolest avatar of the year award?

As Cadrius runs past the guards with those others who heeded the grey-clad man's call he avoids their stares. He had promised that they would not have any trouble from him. It turns out he might've been wrong.

The air is even colder than it had been when the man first arrived at the tavern. It did not caress his skin as a gentle summer breeze would, instead it took the nails of its fingers and dug a path across his face.

His boots scrape against the dirt as he slides to a stop about ten feet behind the man. He quickly takes in the situation, noting the woman still kneeling, seeing the large winged beast with a wicked tail.

Without a second thought he draws his long blade in his left hand and unslings the metal shield from his back and moves to stand protectively in front of the the man and women. He waits for the beast to descend.

Once it comes within reach the man gives an inarticulate cry and barrels forward holding his shield in front of him. The beast's maw snaps down at him but the razor sharp teeth deflect harmlessly off of the steel protecting him. However he is not so lucky with the tail as it snakes around and scores a hit on his shoulder.

Poison shoots from the barb and into his veins coursing through him. The night air seems to crystalize as his body reacts to the foreign substance. The beast snorts in apparent glee as it connects with the human. Things begin to move in slow motion as it travels through him.

His head shakes back and forth and the world begins moving rapidly again. The air loses its solidity and he shakes the poison off like a dog shakes the rain from its coat.

He collects himself enough to heft his blade in an arc at the beast scoring a decent blow upon it's midsection leaving a slight gash. The once noble paladin squints his eyes as he finally rejects the last of the poison.

Glaring over his shoulder he growls sounding rather similar to the beast that he is currently engaged in mortal combat with, "What are you waiting for?! Get the women out of here!"

Why cannot I simply die and be rid of this mortal coil? Why do you torment me?

Cadogan led by Crito comes stomping down the street passed all the people and out of the city. Soon enough they stop and Cadogan looks confused, he heard the voice but still has no idea whats going on. And then he hears it. A Horrid high pitch screech and the weak willed Mage begins to shake, only few creatures can make such a sound and none of them Cadogan liked to meet. Thinking quickly he makes sure his Protective spell is still in place before tuning his ears into the screech. He begins the resite incantations never quite completing the spell, but waiting for the right momment, when he feels that the creature is within reach he begins the spell. The words leave his lips like a song and his hand movements are precise and it doesn't take anyone long to realise he is performing Elven High Magic, for a human this is strange indeed. (Spell Craft 17 Enlarged Burning Hands)

Finally he stops speaking and the air around him buzzes with energy and he places his thumbs together and fans out his fingers in the direction of the Beast.

"Gurthar a' i' 'ksher!!" He Screams.<Death to the One of Evil>

And flames errupt from his fingers, in 20ft long and 20ft wide Semi-circular area of fiery hell. The flames miss the people infront of Cadogan, as he was aiming towards the air and the beast is engulfed in an instant of flame only to emerg a second later looking only slightly annoyed at the intrusion of the Mage.

...Minutes earlier "BigRed" Rod had stepped off the Sara Jane in search of a meaning. The crystal he had found on that last boat had done something to him. As he emerged from the docks Rod encountered a large crowd of people running towards (or possibly away from) something, curious as ever he followed...

"Whoaa, that be one big beastie"
However it's attention seems elsewhere with someone attempting to fight the beast head on and a mage of some sort tackling it with a sheet of flame
Slowly walking around to put the Wyvern between himself and the unfortunate man it was attacking Rod raises his crossbow. With a small amount of thought Rod manages to condense a bolt out of ectoplasm and load the weapon
Edging closer so that he stands no more than 10ft from the creature Rod fires the crossbow.
The bolt strikes the creature in the back with a satisfying thud, the wyvern screeches and turns towards Rod

Damn, I was hoping he could keep it's attnetion
The pirate drops his crossbow and draws his well-used rapier.

__________________

BRR just likes to punish us. He does it because we are weak. --The Alcotroll

Cappucina was going to stay around the Dragon's Hangover while everyone ran out to see to the danger warning. She leaned against the doorway and watched all the big people run toward the gates while she wondered what she was going to use for entertainment now. Then that lady with the little snake ring also rushes toward her from up the street, heading after the crowd running for the gates.

Cap nearly dances up to her calling, "Elanor. Excuse me, Elanor! There was talk in the tavern about putting together an artifact search for these amazing little googles that will solve all your afflictions and fix all your problems or something like that. The man in purple named Mega has two leads on where to look. Somewhere in the dream plane or maybe at this nice halfling's mother's brother's place. Do you know where that is? I think the big guy is going to go, and this new guy with silver eyes, and the dwarf will go, and this big fella who hasn't said but I know he will go cause he's the type, and the guy with the green hair seem interested, and the tin tinkerer might go and some others and Me!"

Cappucina is really huffing and gasping for breathe, trying to keep up with the human lady's stride and talking nonstop. She slows down to a more manageable pace now that she is through bringing Elanor up to date. "You should go too and bring useful magic stuff!" she hollers at the shop lady's back as Elanor's outruns her. Then she takes a look around at where she is. She is on the edge of town and where the guard post is. "Oh hello there." she calls to them as she jogs by the guards and toward the ever larger fight in the forest. She knows exactly where it is because a sheet of flames she just saw and the clash of steel she can hear are both pretty good clues.

Cap nears and goes into stealth mode. She moves silently and hides among the trees and bushes and the shadows. Only people with amazing luck or who are just as stealthy as she is have a chance to see her. She creeps a bit more forward and watches. She's not going to get involved in this fight unless it is truly necessary. But, if the big guys need help, help will be on its way.

It got steel , it got heat ...
Now let's add a few more ingredients to the mix...

While grabbing a small flask from one of Patokkel's saddlebags with his right hand , his left index-finger points at the creature's head , releasing a thin line of icecrystals.

"I-icecream-ma-a-an , ring your bell.."

Before the ray hit the target , the flask was thrown into the mix as well.

To the observant bystander , a rare commodity given the situation , a fine example of a natural phenomonem(sp?) revealed itself;
Overheated lizard-skin , suddenly cooled down below zero in a small spot act's rather funny: The unequal expanding and shrinking made a four square inch separate itself from the rest.
Not really spectacular , but nonetheless funny.

The other missile proved more effective towards defeating the monstuosity; Upon impact , it spilled it's content over the creatures wing , rapidly "biting" holes in them , to the point , where said appendages no longer provided the nessecary "lift" for the Wyvern to stay aloft.

Schreaking in pain , it lands amidst the rag-tag "Army-Of-Weirdo's", flailing the remnants of his wings wildly.

Megamieuwsel himself doesn't really get the chance to enjoy his little succes ; One of the beast's appendages hit him on the head and our friendly-neighbourhood-fashion-statement most ungracefully hit's the ground as a result of that.

....and now his hat is dented too.....

Patokkel , sturdy and brave he may be , can't take the frightfull sight of the raging reptile any longer and runs off in blind panick , into the forest.

The Redheaded woman turns on the spot, putting her back to the beast, and a massive blue arc of electricity shoots forth from her towards the nearby woods... Right over the hiden halflings head. Lighting up two massive figures with amazing shock. Three more orcs come bounding out of the woods, two still connected by the shocking electricity and a third more ornatly dressed charging straight at the Brunette and the fallen girl in red with a huge axe raised high.... when the grey clad man spins, his eyes emiting an intense light, directly stairs down the Orcish leader... and he stops dead in his tracks... apparently forgetting what he was doing momentarily.

The Wyvern unable to fly, bucks ferociously.... charging the purple man in an attempt to bite him in half.

__________________
Winner of the 2002 Coolest avatar of the year award?

As Elanor trots by the Dragon's Hangover, a little figure darts out in to the street towards her, calling her name. It's that little halfling she'd seen earlier clinging to the eaves of the inn. And she's talking a mile a minute!

“

"Elanor. Excuse me, Elanor! There was talk in the tavern about putting together an artifact search for these amazing little googles that will solve all your afflictions and fix all your problems or something like that. The man in purple has a lead on where to look. Somewhere in the dream plane. Do you know where that is? I think the big guy is going to go, and this new guy with silver eyes, and the dwarf will go, and this big fella who hasn't said but I know he will go cause he's the type, and the guy with the green hair might go and some others and Me!"

”

A couple of times Elanor tries to interject a reply into the halfling woman's stream of talk, but she can't get a word in edgewise. Who are all these people she's babbling about? Man in purple? Guy with the green hair? Oh wait.... they were there when the orcs were attacking, weren't they?

They had reached the town gates by now, and there was quite a commotion going on outside: Flames leaping up, people yelling and screaming. Here comes the man in purple now; the tinker and the blind sorceror are there already, as are several others. Then she hears the halfling shout after her:

“

"You should go too and bring useful magic stuff!"

”

What? Was that some kind of invitation? Hmmmmm... she would need to know more about it, of course, but it was certainly an interesting proposition. Somewhere in the Dream Plane...... Elanor stops running and slowly turns around.

"What do you know about......" Her question trails off. Where had the halfling disappeared to? She peers into the shadows under the trees and- there! She catches just a glimpse of the small woman, the light from the flames flickering on her face. There is a bellow of pain from some creature up ahead, and Elanor decides that it might be a good idea to join her talkative friend in the shadows.

Or is it?

With a flash, what looks like a searing bolt of blue lightning shoots overhead, briefly illuminating the halfling in her hiding spot. Elanor sees three orcs charge out of the woods from just beyond the startled halfling, and she freezes in place. Luckily, they don't seem to notice either her or the small woman as they run by in the direction of the others. Elanor dives for cover, just as the largest orc stops dead in his tracks.

She ends up sprawled alongside the halfling woman in the shadowy undergrowth. Elanor gets to her knees, breathing a sigh of relief. "By the way, I don't believe I caught your name, Little Sister....." She says in a low voice, smiling a bit awkwardly.

[OOC: By the way, I rolled to see if I spotted you Cap: my spot +6 versus your hide +14, and I won! Can you believe it? And i was just about to post when WhoNAN added his little bit with the lightning bolt thing, and I had to amend my post! ]

Crito lets out a low whistle at the sight of the creature. "Vhat t'e hell is t'at?!" He watches in admiration as several of the men from the tavern, including Cadogan the blind man, attack the beast bringing it crashing to the earth. Unfortunately its fall seems to have knocked out the purple clad sorcerer.

Just then more Orcs come crashing out of the forest. Crito isn't sure what to do at first, but the grey clad man seems to be handling the Orcs and Crito sees the wyvern start to make a move for the unfortunate Megamieuwsel.

"Letayooshchi kislotni." Crito flings a hand forward, sending out a shaft of green colored light, aiming at the wyvern. Unfortunately, the creature lurches at the wrong moment and the acid arrow slides harmlessly by.

[OOC: How do we know how much damage has been done to a creature like this? It doesn't matter with my miss, but I have no idea how I could have figured out the appropriate result if I had hit.]

Rod looks aroundso much happened so fast...
Seeing the Wyvern coming down on the purple man, Rod charges the creature, he brings his rapier around and thrusts but the wyvern lurches strangely and avoids his attack
After avoiding the attack the dragon strikes the pirate with a wing, knocking him to the ground

__________________

BRR just likes to punish us. He does it because we are weak. --The Alcotroll

Cadrius shakes his head an growls a second time. The beast was attacking the others rather than focusing on him, and the woman still seemed to be down as well. He is not happy.

The man's breath comes in slow but deep, each exhalation creating a small cloud in the chill night's air.

"Turn around you bastard," he says cooly and launches a swing at the beast's wicked tail. The sword strikes true and leaves a large gash where the steel had travelled.

His ploy definitely aroused the beast's attention for it immediately spun about nearly hitting him with one wing as the deadly jaws snap down toward him. They do not find the flesh that they seek however, only the metal of his shield.

He notices the rather large amount of arcane energy being set off around him and is a bit uneasy, but for the most part it appears to be centered in the bushes nearby and the upper part of the beast.

Cappucina is starting to think she might have to help just a little bit because that winged thing is still snapping its tail and clawing and biting everybody that is supposed to go look for the little goggles with her.

She pulls out her dagger and is about to be very brave, when all of a sudden a huge bolt of destructive magic sizzles over her head. She knows at least one person in the fracus spotted her and the shop lady saw her from her right, as she was lit up for the moment. Her cover is blown, but for just a second.

Then, two orcs go charging by. Cap already has her dagger poised for a throw and there is nothing she likes better than to stop a charging enemy with a good throw. It's so easy when they leave themselves open like that, running blindly past. Cap thinks as she nails one orc right through the throat, he stops dead in his tracks for a moment, and then flops face down either dead or on his way to dead.

Someone else comes crashing the other way while Cappucina isn't prepared. She jumps around and grabs for a dart, knowing by the sounds she is too late. Then Elanor dives into her hiding space with lots of noise and starts talking. On one hand, she is pretty glad it is Elanor and not some orc about to kill her. At the same time, she wonders if this lady knows how to move a little more quietly.

"My name is Cappucina. We shouldn't talk now. I'm trying to be sneaky. You can stay here, it is a good place to hide. I'm moving closer to the fight." Even Caps whisper is a high pitched squeak.

Skidding to a stop in front of the majestic beast, Second barely even notices anyone else there.

Those scales.. Such raw, natural beauty.. What the?

Spells are suddenly slung at the creature. Swords and axes flash, biting chunks out of it's flesh. At first, it's true, the creature was attacking. Now, however.. it's just trying to get away. Far too weak to fly, it hisses and bites at anyone who draws near. Then orcs appear.

"EVERYONE! BACK AWAY FROM THE WYVERN!"

As the others, confused, stop for a moment, they too notice the lizard is backing away slowly, no longer interested in a fight. The orcs keep pushing onward, but for now, the Wyvern is alone.

With a wry grin, the man adds "Let me speed this up a bit.."

Drawing out his large oak leaf, he begins chanting. Within moments, insects begin to appear, swarming forward from the Druid toward the Wyvern. The Orcs dodge out of the way as the large beast watches the insects close in, eyes widening in horror as the they begin biting at it's ankles. With a final hiss of defiance at the crowd, the beast turns and dashes back into the woods, weak, but not too weak to survive.

"There.. wasn't that a much nicer way to end it, rather than killing the poor innocent thing? GACK!" Second ducks just in time to doge a blow from an orc that drew near, and he pops back up, grin on his face, never seeing the other orc behind him. One swift swing to his knee, and the Druid is down on the ground.

The Orcs hurtle by the hidden halfling and Elanor, not noticing them at all.... Cappucina's Dagger however noticed the right orc perfectly as it scores slashing open what could only be a vital blood vessel. The arc of electricity shifts from the fallen orc to the stunned leader, who begins to writhe with the surge.

Whonan makes his way to the kneeling womans side... the young blond woman very badly injured is coming to very slowly still aparently in a state of shock. He places his arms around her holding her head to his chest... her wounds close as he falls backwards, the Grey vest soaked in red blood pouring from new wounds on the mans side.

The Wyvern storms off, making a great slash at one of the Orcs which distrubed it to begin with, tearing its face slightly on its way by.

The Orc in charge now infuriated but slightly demoralized raises his massive axe again to swing yet another time at the fallen Druid.

((Biocurrent still flowing to Orc Guard 1 and Orc Leader, Orc Guard 2 is down, and Guard 1 took damage from the fleeing Wyvern... Manifested Empathic Transfer upon Blond girl.))

__________________
Winner of the 2002 Coolest avatar of the year award?